Hello all. I'm new to the boards but have been finding them very informative. I was diagnosed with Crohn's last year and have a few questions I thought maybe you could help me with. I am having trouble understanding what a bowel loop with thickening walls is and what complications it can cause. This bowel loop leads to the terminal ileum which has mild mucosal surface but no wall thickening. My GI is not very informative so I'm trying to get a better understanding of this disease.
Thanks for any help you can offer..
Gena

Thickened walls of a bowel loop (meaning just a section of intestine) is a Crohn's feature. The intestinal walls become less elastic and thicker from the chronic inflammation. Thickening is an early sign of Crohn's. This can lead to strictures and eventually obstruction. The terminal ileum is the most common site of small bowel Crohn's inflammation. Sometimes these areas of thickening and/or stricture can become sites for fistula formation, where a small, tubelike connection grows between organs ,the abdominal wall, or the perineum.

Jan

Thanks Jan..
Gena